Friday, 30 May 2014

Hello all,
As part of a recent shopping spree on Ebay, I got my hands on a couple of the old Citadel Gargoyles. They are part of the C48 range, dating to ca. 1984. They were cheap but unfortunately came without their wings. So I decided
to greenstuff them a bit and make them look like smaller beastmen. They
will thus be part of Akward's warband which is increasingly becoming a
collection of beastly Slaaneshi followers.

The sneaky one on the left is Zheted, who carries a small sword or a
large knife with him. He looks very much like a stealthy assassin,
creeping through the forest, hunting for opportunities. He appears to have been gifted with a small scorpion tail, probably dripping venom...

The weird looking one on the right is mr. Gotalot (of what?). He is armed with a spear and a nasty attitude. He also seem to have received a mutation of scaly skin, giving him a better armour save.

Picture stolen from Stuff of Legends

The original advertisement for the C48 range - some nice beasts here - would love to paint a complete set... I would buy Bld'Ngor and the rest instantly if the price was right :-).

The place where the wings were supposed to be inserted needed some serious green stuffing, but I think they turned out fine - it is very difficult to spot where the holes were.

They have been painted to fit Akwad's warband - i.e. purplish hooves, horns etc. They fit the role of smaller beastmen fine - could also work as mutated humans.

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Hello all,
So my mysterious demon, acquired for almost nothing in an ebay auction, turns out to be a Dusk Realm Demon from Chronopia. I know next to nothing about Chronopia, apart from how they apparently made quite bulky miniatures, but according to the internet there are very few of these painted and showcased online. This is one of them:

And the concept art - which I much prefer...:

Both images are from here: http://www.chronopiaworld.com/artikel.php?id=130

I like the look of it, but I do think I will paint mine as a minotaur. A minotaur mutated into a more beefy version - massive growth? - and with chaos armour. Should look cool. Trust me. No, really, it will be fine....

Chronopia has been kind enough to describe what exactly a dusk demon might be:

Dusk Realm Demon

Faction: DevoutType:
Close Combat Individual

Taking its name from the place that spawned it, the Dusk Realm Demon is a
brute in every sense of the word. It exists only to kill and maim and
while it is given to fits of blinding rage, it commands a keen
intellect. These Demons seem at home in the utter dark of the Under
Realms and the sweltering twilight of the deep jungles. So hideous is
the presence of a Dusk Realm Demon that it causes abject fear in all who
encounter it and like its smaller cousin, is capable of devastating
attacks with its horned head. A charging Dusk Realm Demon has been known
to be able to withstand the charge of a Bull Myrmadon.
Now to find out what a Bull Mymadon is :-).

This beast is a mystery no longer! Thanks to Donogh (from http://apokalypsisrpg.blogspot.dk/), I now know it to be a Dusk Realm Demon from Chronopia: http://www.chronopiaworld.com/artikel.php?id=130

I got this beast in a recent trade and I have no idea what it might be. It is massive and distinct, but unfortunately still undercoated (heavily) in black paint. I hope some of you experts may be able to identify it/him:

Front:

Left:

Right:

Next to an old citadel minotaur:

It is a very chunky mini - quite heavy and solid. I don't think it is a Citadel mini, but to be honest I have no idea who made this beast. Any leads would be much appreciated!

Monday, 26 May 2014

Hello all,
The last of my spring ebay-shopping spree included a nice selection of Fenris miniature (who, I just noticed, is having a sale with 20% discount on everything, including this range).
The Fenris Beastmen fit very well with the older Citadel beasties, but have a much crispier finish and are very well sculpted. Indeed Fenris is becoming one of my favourite companies for fantasy.
The first three is an inverted beastman (his lower body is turned 180 degrees, so that is his tail he is holding), a female gazelle like beastman, and a huge brute whose left side is twice as big as his right. A massive fist!

The following two are a small warthoggish beastman, armed with a sickle, and the natural leader of the pack, a huge brute, carrying a large bone around for clubbing humans.

Just to show the size of the leader, here he is next to an old Citadel Minotaur. A very imposing creature.

These beasts appear to be a nice alternative for beastmen of the more rural, tribal type. Their weapons are unsophisticated and primitive and they have little clothing and no armour.

They are super sharp sculpts, little clean-up needed, and the type of minis that you cannot wait to paint. Highly recommended if you spot them cheaply on Ebay.

Friday, 23 May 2014

So, delving deep into the intimidating pile of unpainted lead, I found a couple of old beastmen. One is a classic Citadel, while the other is a somewhat odd creature from Harlequin. Now it is odd, not because of mutations or similar extravaganza, but because it carries a Crossbow, and looks like it knows how to use it. I wouldn't normally agree with the notion of a beastman using such 'sophisticated' weaponry, but hey, this is Chaos! You can complain to the big mutated chap in the head office...

I think they turned out fine, and it is always interesting to see how the old miniatures rank up.

Smada'Vek, on the left, is the old Harlequin beastman. I remember buying it primarily because I needed Crossbows and fancied giving him a different weapon, although this never happened. I think I have one or two more of this type.

It was originally marketed as 7303 Beastmen Crossbows, it was designed by Kev Adams in ca. 1996. It is still available, and sold by Black Tree Design as part of the HM1152 Beastmen Crossbows (3):

His companion is the unnamed Beastman number 7, sculpted by Michael Perry in ca. 1994. I find it a great shame they stopped giving their minis suitable names, but as a result this beast
didn't get a fancy name but it did get its very own line in the 1995/96
Citadel catalogue:

The two actually fit each other. The Perry one is hunched over, but if it stood straight there would be little different in their bulk.

So the only difference is in their weaponry and if you are in the market for a crossbow wielding Beastman (perhaps for a chaotic warband), then this would be a cheap and nice-looking solution.

They'll join Akward soon, and might even allow the photographer to stay alive long enough for a group photo to be taken :-).

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Hello all,
The ultimate bad guys from Heroquest: Chaos Sorcerer, Warrior bodyguard and undead henchmen. Not that they are that difficult to slay, they just look cooler than the other monsters on the block.

Mr.Evil Sorcerer, welcoming you to his dungeon - ready for a double high-five!

Dr. Borg, unmoved by anything and able to crunch walnuts with his left hand.

Long-forgotten kings of the past; mighty mummies.

Unfortunate victims of a hay-stack fire, Carl and Otto Bleistift.

Former kindergarten teachers Schmidt (left) and Walter have turned into somewhat restless zombies. But rest assured, they are always on the look out for lost children...

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Hello all,
Found a couple of the delightfully nasty old citadel Plaguebearers. And how can anyone resist painting such lovely sculpts? They simply ooze of character and were very fun to slap some paint on :-).

On the left is Mr. Maggotgut while the lovely gentledemon on the right is Dr. Leperflesh.

Wanted plenty of gore and goo, but also wanted to try a few different colours - Leperflesh was much darker to begin with but I decided he looked a bit too serious :-).

Good fun painting these, although I have no idea if they will ever see any kind of action - might throw them into a Heroquest mission just for a laugh.

Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Hello all,
With the blessing of a new camera and a new photo set-up, I figured I would take a few snap shots of my Heroquest figures. We, as a family, really love this game. It provides fun for even the youngest (5) whose dwarf is an unstoppable beast. The eldest finds it entertaining and even the wife joins in the fun. I get stuck with the job of the evil gamemaster - infuriating how difficult it is to hit with the evil creatures! - and we all have fun.
So without further ado, I bring you the heroes of Heroquest:

There is little to say regarding their paintjobs - quick and fun, the minis are surprisingly well sculpted (they are a bit square, though) and little effort was required.

Elf

The elf figurine is tall and slender, armed with a short one-handed sword.
He is equal in attack strength to the dwarf, but is able to use one
element's spell - air, earth, fire, or water magic. He has still fewer
body points than the dwarf, but higher mind points allowing him to
resist magical attack. His starting weapon is a short sword. He starts with 6 body points and 4 mind points.

Barbarian

The barbarian figurine is depicted as being tall and muscular,
brandishing a broadsword. He is the strongest character in combat,
benefiting from excellent attack and moderately good defense, but lacks
any magical abilities. He has the most body points, so he can withstand a
lot of injury. His starting weapon is a broadsword. He starts with 8 body points and 2 mind points.

Dwarf

The dwarf figurine is short, stocky and well armored, carrying a battle axe.
He is very good in defense, but lacks the attack strength of the
barbarian and has no magical abilities. The dwarf also has the unique
ability of being able to disarm traps without special equipment. He has
slightly fewer body points than the barbarian. His starting weapon is a short sword. He starts with 7 body points and 3 mind points.

Wizard

The wizard figurine wears a full-length cloak and carries a staff.
In combat, he is the weakest in attack, but compensates for this by
being able to use three elements' spells, for a total of nine spells.
Has very few body points so can be easily killed in combat. His high
mind points allow him to be more resistant to the effects of magic. His
starting weapon is a dagger. He starts with 4 body points and 6 mind points.